Letting Go
by Pokeluv101
Summary: Every father must learn to let go of their daughter. While some does it better than others, that isn't for the PokeSpe guys. They knew the dangers of the outside world and dating was one of them. {Gold, Silver, Green, Ruby, Dia}


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters except for my OCs**

* * *

"Bury me in a hole and leave me to die," Gold sobbed in his drunken self pity. Why did he do that? It seemed like the right thing to do at the time but now he regretted it. He could only sob away his worries and rant to his friends. "Why didn't I stop her? Now she's lost to me forever!"

"She went on a date, not going across the region." Silver answered deadpanned though he could relate to Gold's sense of abandonment. His own daughter had gone on a date recently and it still didn't feel real to him. "Topaz has been visiting your daycare for a while now so you must have an opinion on him."

"Doesn't matter if the guy was a saint, I know what go on in a guy's mind!" Gold slammed down his mug.

"Being a father is hard when you don't want to let go," Ruby agreed. "Amethysts is my gem and I just want to protect her. I'm afraid that one day she'll tell me that she doesn't want to be my coordinator buddy anymore."

Red watched as the others gave Gold their pity but he couldn't relate to how Gold was feeling. He had a son and while he loved Orange, he didn't feel crushed when Orange first said he had a date. "Don't fuss too much on it. She'll always be your daughter-"

"Don't give me that cliché bull! My daughter's on her first date and I made a complete fool of myself," Gold snapped and told him the events of that afternoon.

* * *

_Gold was watching his daughter, Moonstone, play with the baby pokemon outside when he saw a boy approach her with flowers. He didn't think much about it since the boy often flirted with Moonstone and he considered it innocent. Until he heard Topaz ask, "You wanna go out for a bite to eat sometime?"_

_Gold's head came up and he threw the door open to interrupt them but it was too late. She shrugged and answered, "Sure. I have to take care of the pokemon so I'm not free until six. Is that okay?"_

_"That's perfect!" Topaz hugged her much too closely for Gold's liking before running off to prepare for their date. Moonstone found herself smiling as she waved bye to him. She was used to his behaviour by now._

_Gold could only watch their exchange, crestfallen. For the first time in his life, he realized that his daughter was growing up. She helped him with his daycare and they were close so he thought she would always stay his little girl forever. What happen to the days when she forced him to play dress up with her? Who knew he would miss those days? Even when she turned to him with her bright smile, he saw her as five rather than the fifteen she truly was._

_"Poppa?" She realized her father was uncharacteristically quiet and tilted her head at him. "Is something wrong? You know you can't leave the front desk. Momma will yell at you if she finds out."_

_"We just won't tell her," he laughed shakily. He knew he was getting emotional but how else could he react to his baby growing up. He wasn't her number one anymore and there was nothing he could do about it. Even though she was mischievous as a child she was maturing to a serious young adult- too serious to spend time with her goofball father..._

_He would just have to use the time they still had. He took her hand, "Do you want to play dress up? I swear I won't complain if you braid my hair again!"_

_"Are you okay Poppa?" Moonstone became more worried and placed a hand over his head to see if he had a fever. She was always worried that he would fall sick again since he had been plagued with nightmares caused by Darkrai. He was acting delusional now but he didn't seem to be sick. "I'll call mom if you're not feeling well."_

_"How about you stay home and take care of your old man? Your mom's still in Kanto for the prof so I don't want to drag her away from that." Gold's heart broke further when she looked over her shoulder to where Topaz left. But she didn't hesitate before saying._

_"Okay. I was going to tell you that Topaz invited me on a date but I'm sure we can reschedule. I'll call Auntie Yellow as well to see you if you're sick-" Moonstone mentally made a list of things she would need to do. Gold could see her thought process but more importantly could hear how conflicted she was. She wanted to help her dad and to go on her date but he was manipulating her into a decision. What kind of father was he to put himself before his daughter?_

_"You don't need to stay home with me. I've just been thinking that we don't spend enough time together and your old man got really nostalgic." Gold admitted and scratch his cheek. Moonstone smiled warmly and his expression reminded her of all the games they would play together when she was a kid._

_"Maybe it'll be cheaper for Topaz and I to have dinner with you. That way I can spend time with him and make sure you're not sick." Moonstone compromised and Gold doubted Topaz would be happy with the arrangement._

_"Really, you two should go out and spend some alone time. I'll be alright here taking care of the pokemon. Just promise that if he does anything you're not happy with, tell me and I'll do my fatherly duty and beat him!" Gold said with more enthusiasm than he felt. She laughed and nodded. That smile was so familiar to him and he wanted her to continue to have that smile. If Topaz could give that to her than he would let go of her happily._

* * *

"I feel like shit for letting my little girl go with that guy," Gold sighed into his cup. He kept going through different situation Moonstone could be in at the moment. What if Topaz wasn't a gentleman or ordered Moonstone to do something she didn't like? If that was true he risked his 'cool dad' reputation for nothing!

"At least I know that I couldn't have embarrassed myself as much as Silver." Gold tried to regain his confidence with the light jab at his friend. Silver frowned at Gold's words and made a quick retort. "Don't try to deny it! You're the most protective out of all of us. I can just imagine what you did to the guy that asked Aries out."

"Do you guys think so little of me? I'm able to control my emotions and be composed," Silver stated but his only response was the other's laughter. "I just calmly spoke to the boy."

"According to Turquoise the boy wet his pants," Green stated and Silver threw a glare at Green. He knew that Green was close to his children but didn't know that Turquoise would actually tell him.

"I just tested the kid to see if he was worthy of my lamb." Silver tried to justify his actions.

* * *

_"Run little boy, run!" Was Gold's advice to the fool that wanted to speak to Silver before he went on his date with Aries. But the boy didn't listen and greeted Silver rather than keeping a safe distance of fifty feet between them. Aqua had arranged their date and specifically told him to introduce himself to Aries's family._

_Yes Silver knew this and prepared himself for their meeting._

_"It's normal for teenagers to go out on dates," he told himself for the millionth time as he prepared dinner for him and his wife... while his only daughter was on a date! He slammed his head on the table, hating that he was so overprotective of her. Why couldn't he be laid back like Gold in this situation? "Just grin and bear it. Aqua set them up so he shouldn't be entirely bad."_

_"How do I look Poppa?" Aries danced into the kitchen wearing a pure white dress and Silver's resolve shattered. She twirled around him and took his hand with a wide smile. "Aqua said to dress fancy because my blind date is going to take me to the new restaurant that just came out. Do you think this is alright?"_

_"You're beautiful," he squeezed her hands before she let go and went off. Too beautiful for whomever her date was!_

_"I know that face Silver!" He turned to see his wife standing in the kitchen doorway with her hands on her hips. "This is her first date so don't you dare try to ruin it because you're scared to lose her. She loves you so don't ruin it by being an idiot dragon."_

_Silver sighed. "I won't do anything bad to him, I'll just give him a test to make sure he's worthy of her."_

_"I give up!" Lyra threw her hands into the air. "Dig your own grave."_

_Silver was about to stop his wife but there was knock on the door. He knew that it must've been Aries's date so he threw a pig onto the table before he went to answer the door to see a scrawny kid waiting._

_"You're here for Aries?" He addressed the boy who nodded in response. With that answer he went back to the kitchen, keeping an eye on the boy all the while. He lifted his butcher knife and brought it down on the pig with terrifying sound, not caring about the blood splattered. "Tell me boy, do you have a criminal record?"_

_"No sir!" He answered automatically and Silver nodded._

_"Good. I do," he brought his knife down to punctuate his words. "I must tell you that Aries is the light of my world and if anything ever happened to her..."_

_Once again the knife came down. He tilted a look to the boy who was all but wetting his pants at the moment. Silver motioned for the boy to respond but he merely turned and ran out the door. Silver turned when he heard a sigh and saw his wife glaring at him. He was quick to defend himself, "He didn't deserve her if he's afraid of me."_

_She didn't say a word as turned to climb the stairs again. She stopped though and asked over her shoulder. "How are YOU going to explain this to Aries?"_

_Silver froze at that and remembered how happy Aries had looked only moments ago. He didn't think beyond scaring away the boy and his pride blinded him from thinking into the future. How was he going to solve the situation he caused for himself? He wasn't given much time to think before Aries came down again._

_"Well I'm off!" She hugged her mother and kissed her father goodbye. "Aqua called to say that I'm meeting my date at the restaurant now. I'll be back in an hour, two at the most, but I'll call you if I'm going to be late."_

_"Aries-" he called for her as she was almost out the door and she looked innocently at him. Seeing that, he couldn't bring himself to tell her. "Have fun."_

_He waited until Aries was gone and rushed to the phone, doing the one thing he promised never to do. He called Green, or more specifically Green's son, for help. He winced when he heard something explode in the background as the call was answered. Turquoise answered sharply, "Damnit! Who is this?"_

_"Aries's father," Silver answered Turquoise. "I need your help. You know how your sister set Aries up with that boy? I need you to take his place."_

_"What did you do? You scared him away, didn't you?" Silver twitched at Turquoise's deadpanned tone. Turquoise went on though Silver didn't answer, "I'll go but only because I don't want my sister to badger me about how I didn't save Aries first date."_

_"Thank you," Silver let out a relieved breath. It only took a moment after the phone disconnected for him to realize what he done. He had scared off her first date only to set her up with another boy!_

* * *

"Watch out Silver, the Oak family is out to steal your family." Gold joked. "First Green is marrying your sister and now Turquoise is going on a date with Aries."

"That's not funny," Silver said a low voice but Gold still laughed and pat his friend's shoulder. Though Silver's expression was hard they both knew that he would never purposely hurt Gold. The two were best friends even if their personalities clashed at times. "I'm sure that my little lamb won't leave me for someone as serious as Turquoise."

"I think my son would be a great match for anyone," Green boosted. He was proud to be the father of Turquoise and Aqua. No matter their faults he loved them unconditionally and wouldn't have anyone speak badly about either of them. "Who wouldn't fall in love with someone as dependable as Turquoise? Or fall in love with someone energetic as Aqua? I'm sure they'll have their pick of partners."

"A lot of guys asks Aqua out but she doesn't go on too many dates," Red agreed. "I'm kinda surprise that you and Blue haven't tried to match her with someone. Between her meddling and your control issues I thought she would have a line of suitors set up for her."

"It's not the Middle Ages anymore. Aqua's free to make her own decisions about who she dates." Green pointed out. "But that didn't mean I wasn't involved. If she says that he's a good guy then I believe her. I was perfectly calm and didn't try to scare the kid away. As long as I knew he was a gentleman, I had no objection."

* * *

_The background search on the boy brought up nothing, in fact Aqua's date seemed to be a model citizen. Hell, even his grades were great. Green couldn't find a single thing wrong with Aqua's date. Therefore he couldn't find a single reason to stop Aqua from going on her first date._

_"What do you think about the boy," Green turned to his wife and she laughed at the furrow between his brows. She reached up and gently soothed them with her fingers. He was still waiting for her answer since he knew she would do her own research on Aqua's date._

_"You're not going to use my judgement as an excuse to keep her from her first date. She needs these experiences to find what she likes in a man so let it go." She ordered and he groaned in defeat. Yes, Aqua was old enough to date but he didn't have to like it. Compared to Turquoise, raising Aqua was difficult to say the least. He would usually have Blue deal with her 'womanly issues' but this wasn't something he could push off to Blue._

_"I should talk to him first to see if he's good enough for her!" Green decided and was promptly dejected by Blue._

_"No! I am putting my foot down Green. You don't get to make decisions for her and don't you dare try to meddle in her life!" Green flinched at her tone and wanted to point out that she had dragged him along to spy on their friends' dates but her fiery eyes stopped him. "To make sure you don't follow them you are going to take me on a date tonight. You're going to take me to a fancy restaurant all the way across town from Aqua's date."_

_Green knew he couldn't win this argument so nodded. She didn't look convinced but was confident she could stop him from interrupting Aqua's date. With one last stern look, she went up to their room to change. Green waited until he heard the door close before rushing to his son's room._

_"Turquoise," Green threw open the door. "I need you to-"_

_"I'm not going to follow Aqua on her date," Turquoise answered before Green could finish. "Mom said if I side with her on this she'll get me some evolution stones for my next experiment. Even if she didn't bribe me I can't help you. I'm too busy with this."_

_"I'm your father!" Green didn't like using that argument because it ride on emotion rather than logic but he couldn't think of anything else. "And Aqua's your sister. It is our duty to make sure she is safe and-"_

_"She'll never speak to you again if she knew you thought so little of her decision." Green hands tightened into fists. Why was his family turning against him? Why was he the only one worried about Aqua's date?_

_Why wasn't he ready to let her go?_

_"I'll spy for you." Both Turquoise and Green looked up to see Orange climb through Turquoise's window. Orange had been a friend of the family for years now and often came through the window. Green wondered how long the boy had been listening._

_"What do you mean?" Green narrowed his eyes at the boy who smiled. Orange wasn't afraid of Green's glare and after so many years of seeing it, he was only amused by it._

_"If you want someone to make sure her date behaves, I'm your guy." Orange declared and Green thought over the offer for a moment. Orange quickly voice more arguments. "I'm pretty sure Aqua won't notice me following her. And if her date goes too far I'll give him what he deserves! You can trust me on this."_

_"Can't you two just agree and get out of my room so I can finish my project!" Turquoise rubbed his temple and snapped in frustration. "I say who cares if he's an ass as long as Aqua doesn't chose him. I would be a lot more worried if Aqua would stay with a guy like that but she won't. You can follow her but it won't change how she is. I'm sure that she'll tell you about her date when she gets home so you'll know if he behaved himself. Now make a decision before I get mom to continue this rant!"_

_At the mention of Blue, both Green and Orange's back straighten. They knew how scary Blue could be and Turquoise wouldn't use such a threat lightly. Green didn't know where his son developed such an attitude and frowned at his bluntness._

_His words were blunt but true. Aqua never hesitated to tell him anything and they were close. She would tell him how she felt about her date and hopefully it would be the right decision. "If I can't follow her then Orange shouldn't either. Do you think you can keep him here? I don't want Aqua dating him any more than I would her date anyone else."_

_"I'm sitting right here!" Orange pouted._

* * *

"She told me that she liked him but didn't see a long term relationship with him," Green sounded relieved to be over the first hurdle of letting go of his little girl. "Turquoise really has a mouth on him. I don't know where he gets his attitude. Blue and I taught him to respect his elders not to question us. Has he ever talked back to you Ruby?"

The man in question had been quiet the entire conversation and mumbled a response. He was remembering seeing Amethysts off on her first date himself. If only he could push the memory aside and not feel the abandonment most fathers did. He was a boy once and knew exactly what goes on in their heads.

"I would rather Amethysts be with someone I've known for a long time but she made her choice." Ruby admitted. "But I can't deny my gem anything. Man I wish I could just keep her five forever and not deal with the issue. But at least it's getting easier than that first night."

* * *

_Ruby was excited to make Amethysts a new dress until she told him the reason why she wanted one. He laughed awkwardly when she told him it was for her first date. Those last two words echoed through his mind despite him trying to push them into an unreachable hole in his mind. Deny! His mind screamed. If he denied and ignored it enough the problem would go away._

_But for the first time he couldn't make a dress for his beautiful gem. He would always create a dress that matched the person's personality and the occasion but he didn't want to face the fact that she was going on her first date soon. He wanted to avoid thinking about it and did so until it was the night of her date._

_Amethysts skipped to him and told him how excited she was. He was barely able to get a word in before there was a knock at the door, signaling her date's arrival. She started to get nervous since she wasn't ready yet and Ruby nudged her towards her bedroom, saying that her dress was in her bedroom._

_He watched her leave before answering the door and saw that it was Crimson. He knew of Crimson but this was the first time Ruby met him formally. Rumors surrounded the boy and none of them were flattering. He was said to be a hardened delinquent and he didn't want the boy dating his gem. She had told him about someone protecting her from some bullies a week ago so why wasn't she dating someone like that?_

_He had avoided the issue the entire week but now had to face it. Ruby smile was fake and cold as he stared down at the boy. It had been so long since he had been two faced with a person but that darker side of him resurfaced now. "Amethysts is still getting ready. How about you sit and wait for her?"_

_"Thank you," Crimson's voice was a whisper as he stepped inside. Ruby could see that the boy's back was stiff as he sat on the couch. He stared down at his scarred hands before facing Ruby. "I'm not good at small talk. I know what people say about my but I assure you I won't hurt Amethysts. I couldn't believe it when she asked me out and I can't exactly say no to her so here I am."_

_"Here you are," Ruby repeated coldly and he didn't know how long he could continue to fake his smile. To hell with it, Amethysts would come down soon so this was his last chance to say his piece. "Look I don't like getting my hands dirty but the moment you make her cry, you're a dead man walking. The body they find won't-"_

_"I don't care if you leave nothing of me for them to find." Crimson interrupted, shocking Ruby. "You can do whatever you want to me if I make her cry. As long as I'm concerned, I deserve it at that point. I don't deserve her and that's why I didn't want to say yes when she asked me out. All I did was beat some guys for her."_

_"You're the guy that protected her from those bullies?" Ruby couldn't believe this was the boy that Amethysts told him about. The boy shrugged and asked Ruby what else he was supposed to do. Ruby found himself laughing and the tension left his body. "You need to do a lot more than that if you want my approval."_

_Crimson shoulders slumped and Ruby could tell he cared more than he let on. "But you're on a good start."_

* * *

"Man you guys are confrontational," Black laughed and threw his arm around Dia's shoulder. "You should be more like Dia here. When Gray went to pick up Quartz, he didn't pull any of those stunts. Then again my son is awesome so he didn't have a thing to worry about. Tell them Dia!"

"I didn't want her to go out with Gray at first," Dia answered with a smile and Black almost fell off his chair in surprise. "It's not because Gray I thought he's a bad kid but for another reason."

* * *

_Dia considered himself the most accepting of letting go of his daughter. Quartz was smart and responsible so he didn't need to worry. He always tried to be involved in her life but a part of him knew that he could only help her for so long. A knight knew when to fight and when to let people fight their own battles. If he continued to coddle her, she wouldn't grow to a woman. Platina herself said that it would be best for Quartz to experience life without her parents like she did._

_But there was one major difference between Quartz and Platina that worried Dia. Quartz refused to own a single pokemon._

_"Wait Quartz!" Dia stopped her daughter the night before her date and held out a pokeball to her. She looked at it confused for a moment before asking him if he wanted her to deliver the pokemon while on her errand. Dia shook his head, "It's an Absol for you. I want you to keep him with you."_

_Quartz kept her hands at her side. She repeated the same argument she made when he first brought up the issue of having pokemon by her side. "I don't believe in battling or taking pokemon from their natural environment. Please return him back to his home. What if he had a family? Young pokemon, like children, needs a parental figure to socialize them."_

_"I asked Gold to breed him," Dia had prepared for the argument with Platina's help. "I don't like to fight with you but I'll worry about you the entire time if you don't have someone to protect you. I'm proud to have an independent daughter but I don't want her to face the world alone. What you do with Absol is entirely your choice."_

_"I choose not to battle with him. I choose to not use him to imprison other pokemon." Quartz said simply before taking the pokeball from her father. "I choose to have him by my side."_

_Dia smiled warmly at his daughter as she studied the pokeball. She was bright and gifted so he wouldn't worry about her failing. The pride and confidence he felt made him feel light but he didn't understand why he also felt empty. He could only teach her so much and this might be the last thing he could give her._

_"What kind of poffin will Absol like?" Quartz asked him and took out a notepad before firing several more questions at him. "If I am going to take responsibility for Absol I must know as much as I can about care taking. Your pokemon are well taken of and I must follow your example as your daughter."_

_She looked so serious that Dia laughed, once again feeling light but this time he didn't feel empty. She was constantly surprising him and he didn't want it any other way. He would always try to answer her questions until she didn't need him anymore._

* * *

"She's in a happy relationship with Gray now and I'm glad I let her go," Dia smiled to himself. Whenever they made poffin a together she would tell him something new about their relationship and so far it seemed like he had nothing to worry about. That happiness Gray gave her was something he couldn't and if he kept her away that night she would've never experienced it.

In the end letting go of her made them both stronger. "At least we got over that one hurdle."

"Just wait till they actually get married," Gold shivered. "If Topaz ever came to me saying he wanted to marry her I'm going to give him hell."

"What will you do? Get a Sharkpedo to chase him away?" Silver asked and Gold thought for a moment.

"Now I will!" Gold clapped. Red watched the group talk about other things they could do to scare away anyone who was interested in their daughter. He didn't know if he should be glad to have a son instead of a daughter. He loved his son as much as they love their daughters and that what he could relate to in their stories.

* * *

**This started out as just a Silver centric fanfic but then I started thinking about how the other pokeguys would react and this turned into a prequel to another fanfic of mine (father's blessing) Silvia actually made a joke about how the Oak family is becoming a larger part of his family XD**


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